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By NISHA CHANDRAN THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN
Moving classes into cyberspace is becoming the norm at accredited four-year and prestigious universi-ties.
An increasing amount of college courses are being offered online via videocasts, iTunes and online publication of course material. Universities such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Inst itute of Technology have been further de-veloping this trend to make educa-t ion more accessible to meet unique student circumstances, but
have differed on their implementa-t ion. Northwestern of fers two graduate degree programs already available online , but is exercising the possibility of bringing these classes to undergraduates.
The Chronicle of Higher Educa-tion published an article a few months ago explaining the popular growth of online courses, explain-ing that increasing educational ac-cess trumps all other concerns. The article reported that more than 36 percent of public university faculty members surveyed have already experienced either teaching or de-veloping a course online.
NU is following this mentality, said Ronald Braeutigam , professor of economics and associate provost for undergraduate education.
“It could definitely happen in the next two to three years,” he said of online classes implemented into undergraduate curricula.
NU currently has two graduate degree programs — master’s de-grees in Medical Informatics and Public Policy & Administration — av a i l a ble c omple t e ly on l i ne through the School of Continuing Studies.
Assistant Director of Distance Education Caitlin Frano at SCS said these two programs are “par-allel to the on-ground version of the degree,” or equivalent to the class taught on campus.
Braeutigam said he is not aware of proposals at the undergraduate level for degrees consisting of fully Web-based coursework, but added that individual classes are on the horizon.
“People have been talking about what other programs can be a good fit for the online classroom,” he said. “But the suggestions have to emanate from the faculty.”
Braeutigam said a class pro-posed for online instruction must meet two key criteria: curricular desirability and technical feasibil-ity. Classes must have strong curri-cula that are conducive to an on-line teaching format. He said the Medical Informatics program was
By ALI ELKIN THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN
The stage was dark and silent at Bill’s Blues on Wednesday, the live music absent.
Bill’s Blues, 1029 Davis St ., was closed Tuesday and Wednesday after the city suspended the bar’s li-quor license in compliance with the state of Illinois.
Bill Gilmore , who owns the bar, said he owes the state sales taxes and has lost his license as a result. Gilmore said he needs to raise $50,000 within the next week in order to pay off all the necessary ex-penses to keep the bar running.
Unable to get a bank loan, Gilmore is seeking help from “friends, relatives and drinking buddies,” he told THE DAILY earlier this week.
This challenge comes after several financial struggles. Two years ago, owners held a special fundraising event to keep the bar open. This past summer, Bill’s Blues had to fight to regain its liquor license after being caught selling alcohol to a minor in a police sting.
While Bill’s Blues is under the threat of closure, another live music venue, Evanston SPACE, 1245 Chicago Ave ., has experienced growth, not decline, since opening in April 2008, said general manager Jake Samuels . He said ticketed events make it easier to draw upon specific fan bases and that he would be sorry to see Bill’s Blues go.
“What Bill has done has been great and it’s a tough go,” Samuels said. “We certainly don’t like the idea of being the only musical option in Evanston.”
Gilmore, along with several musicians he books, said establishments like Bill’s Blues are becoming a rarity.
The Daily NorthwesternWWW.DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM SERVING THE UNIVERSITY AND EVANSTON SINCE 1881 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
Online Web-based courses might come to NU to near future
See ONLINE, page 6
HALLIE LIANG/THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN
SHAPE held an educational panel Wednesday about how the justice system addresses claims of sexual assault and the e-mail sent to the NU community last year.
Bill’s Blues faces last call without fundraising
See BLUES, page 3
π Two successful online graduate degree programs pave the way for more Web-based courses in the next few years
By CAROLINE DZEBATHE DAILY NORTHWESTERN
In the wake of e-mails sent last week to the student body regarding the Oct. 27 sexual assault of a Northwestern student in Chicago, many questions lingered, es-pecially after the incident was quickly declared “not bona fide” by the Chicago Police Department .
Sexual Health and Assault Peer Edu-cators held an educational panel about how the justice system addresses reports of sexual assault, and how the CPD iden-tifies a crime as bona fide or not bona
fide. About 30 students attended. Dr. Donald Misch, NU Health Ser-
vices executive director; Laura Stuart , sexual health education and violence pre-vention coordinator; and Renée Redd, di-rector of the Women’s Center and Lisa Frohmann , professor of Criminology, Law and Justice at the University of Illinois-Chicago, spoke on the panel. Stuart and SHAPE Student Directors Max Potter and Christine Stiehl led the discussion.
Stuart acknowledged that no informa-tion was available for the speakers be-yond what was in the e-mails.
“There is no additional information that has been made public,” she said, “so
none of us can say for sure what hap-pened.”
Frohmann described the process of reporting a sexual assault to the CPD. When a victim reports sexual assault, po-lice evaluate the incident based on a list of guidelines compiled by the FBI, she said. When evaluating a report of sexual assault, “Police have in their head ideas of what sexual assault looks like,” she said, which can cause an unintentional bias.
There are several ways in which a sex-ual assault report can be declared “not
See SHAPE, page 5
RECYCLE DAILY
... and please remember toINSIDETHISISSUEForum Classifieds CrosswordSports
CARLTON BARZONWhat the blackface incident really shows us about NU
FRIDAYHIGH: 52°LOW: 44°
tomorrow’s weatherforum page 4
Read a field hockey precede, ASG coverage and an article about a Wednesday night Sheridan Road bike crash.
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Panel looks at sexual assault claim
THE
Going green: The who, what and why on campus and beyond.
Plus: gambling, Glee andgetting spiritual for a day.
weeklyI N S I D E
ONLINE CLASSES NU: two graduate degree pro-grams offer online courses, more possible for undergrads in the future
Harvard: offers certain courses online through iTunes accessible to paying students
MIT: publishes course documents for more than 1,900 classes online, which are free but cannot be used toward a degree certificate.
Source: School Web sites,administrators
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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS2 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
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Alumni Association uses webinars to ‘transcend’
By ClairE BroWN the daily northwestern
Students and alumni in search of net-working skills can take their questions out of the classroom and onto the Web with the Northwestern Alumni Association’s webi-nars.
David J.P. Fisher, Weinberg ’98, hosted a series of four webinars this week sponsored by the Alumni Association, covering how to develop a profile and make connections on LinkedIn, a business-networking site.
A webinar is a variation on a typical lec-ture or conference call that has gained pop-ularity in an increasingly digital world. Par-ticipants call in to hear the seminar's audio, and can follow along on a specially-created Web site as the presenter clicks on links, plays videos and views documents and pic-tures.
“It takes the old idea of a conference call a step further,” said Fisher, a trainer, busi-ness coach and president of RockStar Con-sulting. “It creates a dynamic Web site that a group of participants can come and check out.”
The Alumni Association was attracted to the webinar format because of its ability to reach alumni all over the world, said Lauren Herpe, Career Services alumni relations co-ordinator.
“It really helps us build a sense of com-munity among alumni as well as students because you don’t have to be face to face,” said Cathy Stembridge, the Alumni Associa-tion’s executive director. “And that allows us to touch so many more people at the same time.”
Each participant also receives a record-ing of the webinar after the presentation, so participants can look back on the presenta-tion, unlike in a typical lecture.
“(Webinars) transcend time, and they also transcend locations,” Stembridge said.
The Alumni Association has also used webinars for other topics, including search-ing for jobs and changing careers.
Webinars have advantages over tradi-tional lectures because there are no travel costs, and participants can conveniently watch the webinar from their own homes or offices.
“It’s very, very efficient, and it’s very ef-fective, particularly if the speaker or pre-senter is well-versed in the topic,” said Joan Behrens, ’66 alumna of the undergraduate School of Business, which no longer exists.
Webinars also have minimal costs. Fish-er’s webinars this week were $5 for students and $15 for alums. “If you are out of a job, you don’t have the money to travel,” Herpe said.
The format also provides privacy for par-t icipants. Topics surrounding career searches and career change can be sensitive, so many alums may not be willing to come back to campus for a lecture or conference and publicize their career uncertainties.
“If they are embarrassed, they don’t have to be,” Fisher said.
Fisher has hosted 10 webinars with the Alumni Association before this week ’s LinkedIn series. This series consisted of four webinars totaling 400 seats, about 300 of which were filled. In the past his webi-nars have sold out, Herpe said. To make the most use of LinkedIn, Fisher explained how to set up a dummy profile and add “first de-gree connections,” or people you know per-sonally, and “second degree connections,” friends of friends.
Participants have mostly been alums, Herpe said, though the Alumni Association encourages more students to participate. Fisher will be hosting another series of we-binars for the NU community next week on the topic of career change.
Tree stolen outside Sherman Ave. building
An unknown person stole a tree from out-side a building on the 1900 block of Sherman Avenue earlier this week, police said.
An Evanston resident called police at 3:10 p.m. Tuesday to report the theft of a ginkgo tree, Evanston Police Cmdr. Tom Guenther said. The tree disappeared from the parkway in front of the building at 1926 Sherman Ave., he said.
The victim last saw the tree Sunday, Guen-ther said. After calling the city’s Forestry Di-vision, the victim confirmed it had not been removed by the city.
Teenager asks to look at iPod, then steals it
An unknown teenager stole a man’s iPod after asking to see it Monday afternoon, po-lice said.
A teenager in black coat and dark pants approached the victim around 4 p.m. at the corner of Maple Avenue and Greenleaf Street and asked to see his iPod nano, Guenther said. After the victim handed him the iPod, he fled east on Greenleaf Street.
The victim told police he might be able to identify the thief.
Police are still investigating.
Chi Omega resident has seizure in kitchen
A student with flu-like symptoms had a seizure at the Chi Omega sorority house Tues-day, police said.
Police responded to a call from a resident of Chi Omega, 1870 Orrington Ave., that an-other resident had a seizure while sitting in the kitchen area, University Police Deputy Chief Dan McAleer said. The student having the seizure had been ill all day, police said.
The student was taken to the hospital.
— Katie ParK
POLiCeBloTTEr
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By AmANdA LAABS the daily northwestern
With pints of Guinness in hand, about 30 members of the Evanston community gath-ered at the Celtic Knot on Wednesday night to discuss political solutions the United States could use to deal with the overuse of non-renewable energy.
A partnership between One Book, One Northwestern and the Northwestern-run Science Cafe Evanston series brought sociol-ogy Prof. Monica Prasad to the pub, 626 Church St., to speak about her research on U.S. options for cutting down its fuel con-sumption and carbon emission. The infor-mal setting lent itself to a discussion, and au-dience members contributed almost as much as Prasad.
In her most recent study, Prasad ana-lyzed the advantages and disadvantages of implementing either a carbon tax or setting a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide a country can produce by studying countries that have implemented both measures. She said she was surprised to find countries have taken political action have had differential rates of success, with some countries even seeing an increase in emissions.
“My general conclusion has been that the policy really doesn’t matter,” said Prasad, a faculty fellow at NU’s Institute for Policy Re-search. “Neither will work in the absence of alternative sources of energy — that’s what really matters.”
At one point the discussion turned to the cap-and-trade bill that is currently cycling through Congress. The compromises the bill has to make in order to be “politically palat-able” has also made it a weak solution to the problem, Prasad said.
“Though it seems that there isn’t a politi-cal solution to the problem, I believe that the implementation of policies that tap increas-ing citizen awareness of the problem is key,” Prasad said. “We need programs that will lead to the take-up of alternative energy — if this happens, it doesn’t matter whether or not we have a carbon tax or cap.”
Attendees then discussed the validity of several types of alternative power for the United States, including wind and nuclear power.
Prasad said she was “very impressed” by the audience’s level of knowledge of the sub-ject matter.
John Buchanan, an Evanston resident and retired science department chair at Ev-anston Township High School, said he has been attending Science Cafe events since they started a few years ago. He said he’s concerned about energy consumption issues, especially the use of fossil fuels.
“If people don’t start thinking about it in other ways, it will cause serious problems,” he said. “I’m 70 years old, and in 20 years, I don’t know where we’re going to be. That’s scary.”
While people like Buchanan may have a deep personal interest in the subject matter, the Science Cafes are also advertised to Northwestern students on Plan-It Purple. But Suzanne Auburn, coordinator for the
Cafes, said few students attend.“The focus of Science Cafes is on the Ev-
anston community,” she said. “If I’ve seen anything, it’s a grad student. I’ve never seen an undergrad.”
Auburn added that One Book, One Northwestern representatives reached out to her with the idea of a Science Cafe revolving around Thomas Friedman’s book “Hot, Flat and Crowded” in order to get the Evanston community engaged in a dialogue already happening on campus.
Auburn said the Science Cafe events are a great way for Evanston residents and stu-dents alike to find out about cutting edge re-search and talk with experts.
“It’s a way to get a flavor for scientific re-search that’s going on in a way that’s more personal and informal,” she said. “The at-mosphere is very relaxed, and there’s no pre-tense that you have to be a science nut in or-der to attend.”
Professor talks energy over beers
AShLEy fEttErS/thE dAiLy NorthWEStErN
Prof. Monica Prasad met with students at the Celtic Knot restaurant on Wednesday night to discuss possible solutions to the overuse of nonrenewable energy in the U.S.
Closure of Bill’s Blues to leave few local
If Bill’s Blues does remain open, it will likely ex-pand its horizons to include more indie rock and hip-hop acts in the hopes of attracting additional cli-entele, Gilmore said. High-quality music is a prior-ity, he said, not dance parties.
“We’re not the Keg,” he said.Gilmore said the recession of 2008 and 2009
caused a decrease in business as people went out less in order to save money. The bar attracts North-western clientele through student-organized events.
Weinberg senior Cameron Henderson said he helped organize a fundraising event for STITCH Magazine and Northwestern Art Review at the bar.
“We chose Bill’s Blues because they always have great live music and they tend to be friendly to stu-dents,” he said.
Local musicians who play at Bill’s Blues said the bar offers a unique experience to Evanston that is getting harder to find.
“Bill’s Blues is everything that’s right about Ev-anston,” said Tom Crivellone, who plays at the bar’s weekly blues jam.
Mike Finnerty, who plays saxophone every week at Bill’s Blues, said the bar’s struggle is a result of the recession, as well as a long-term decline for music venues of its kind.
“Our mass media doesn’t feature any live music at all,” he said. “The average American’s music con-sumption is the equivalent of eating McDonald’s five nights a week and Burger King the other two, but paying filet mignon prices.”
Finnerty said Bill’s Blues cultural value merits the city cutting the venue some slack.
He said closing the bar would eliminate one of a dwindling number of jazz clubs in the area.
“I play pretty much vintage jazz, and there’s hardly any outlet for the jazz I play,” Finnerty said. “It’s destroying the only living habitat of an endan-gered species.”
From BLUES, page 1
Note: please do NOT move the green guide. Our designers use that!Note: please do NOT move the green guide. Our designers use that!
forum“Truthfully, when I saw photos of the blackface kid, I laughed myself out of my chair.”
Carlton Barzon, Thursday columnist
quote of the day
Don’t blame blackface on blind hatred
The Drawing BoarD
tyler feder/the daily northwestern
The Daily NorthwesternEvanston, Ill. | Vol. 130, No. 34
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR may be sent to 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, Ill. 60208; via fax at 847-491-9905; or via e-mail to [email protected] or drop a letter in the box outside The Daily off ice. Letters have the following requirements: Should be typed
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the authors, not Students Publishing Co. Inc. Submissions signed by more than three people must include at least one and no more than three names designated to represent the group. Editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily’s student editorial board and not the opinions of either Northwestern University or Students Publishing Co. Inc.
EdITor In chIEf | Emily GlazermanaGInG EdITorS | Elise foley
and matt Spector
forum EdITor | Stephanie Wang
I doubt I was the only student wondering if he knew “the blackface kid.” I was nearly sure it was one of my own friends,
who had asked me a week earlier for my opinion about painting his skin tar-black and dressing in FUBU gear for Halloween. He quickly decided against it once I explained the history surrounding his costume choice.
Many people may have promptly rebuked my friend in a storm of ex-pletives and immediately demanded an apology, but this is the sort of reac-tionary response that poses the big-gest obstacle to stable race relations at Northwestern. He genuinely did not understand the racist connotations of his ideas. I understood why he might not, and I responded calmly. As a re-sult, he learned something. I think that’s progress.
Truthfully, when I saw photos of the blackface kid, I laughed myself out of my chair. I could only think, “Wow. How can someone intelligent enough to be admitted to Northwestern Uni-versity, ‘Harvard of the Midwest,’ lack the tact to recognize such a racially in-flammatory costume choice?”
That’s when I remembered NU is a school where I still meet people of every race, ethnicity, creed, political affiliation, etc., who ask me, “How did you grow up to act so white?”
Granted, it’s somewhat easy for me to be rather blasé about this incident. Growing up in the Deep South has imbued me with a thick skin when it comes to issues regarding race. My fa-ther remembers well the everyday in-justices of a segregated New Orleans: being harassed by policemen for the crime of “suspiciously” carrying milk; witnessing an unarmed black petty-thief catch a shotgun shell in the back of the head while fleeing from white officers; watching a black woman launch herself into a shouting match with a city bus driver over giving up her seat for a white man.
These tales made the casual racial insensitivity I encountered while at-tending predominantly white schools in the South not only understandable, but comparatively innocuous by de-fault. I feel the same way when some-one dons blackface at NU as when another black person back home tells me I “talk white.” I laugh. I laugh be-cause I know there is just as much hate behind those words as there is in the heart of a white, liberal arts student who thought it would be funny to be a jiggaboo for Halloween: none. The real problem is that we rely on stereotypes to define each other because we’re afraid to talk about what makes us unique without offending someone.
I would have thought a “liberal-minded” institution like NU would be quicker to give the benefit of the doubt and start an educated discus-sion instead of a witch hunt. I don’t believe racism has disappeared with state-enforced segregation, but an-swering every racially charged con-troversy with a call to arms creates an “us-against-them” atmosphere that nullifies any chance we had for learn-ing from our mistakes.
BARZONCarlton
Use race forum as opportunity to take action
This was the spark that started the fire. Halloween costumes perceived as racially insensitive ignited underlying tensions at Northwestern when two students painted
their faces black, recalling the history of satirical depictions of blacks known as blackface.
Addressing this single incident through a com-munity forum should be the catalyst for further dis-cussions of race at NU. Thursday’s event is an at-tempt to start a conversation. The future dialogue and the events to come should work toward break-ing stereotypes of other racial, ethnic and religious groups to form a more united community.
Many student groups, such as Associated Stu-dent Government, have mobilized quickly in re-sponse to the issue of racial respect on campus. A variety of students across a range of activities have acted and urged others to get involved. As the blackface incident does not violate official NU poli-cies, the administration is not in the position to take disciplinary action — placing the responsibility on students to bring their own concerns to light.
President Morton O. Schapiro’s campus-wide e-mail Tuesday was an acknowledgement of stu-dents’ efforts to talk about this tough topic, giving the event the momentum to reach those who oth-erwise wouldn’t have paid attention. His support for students’ activism follows his emphasis in the first months of his presidency on being an active presence on campus. The e-mail was vaguely worded: “You are probably aware of the incident that took place this weekend,” Schapiro wrote. While he included the students’ description of the forum pasted at the bottom of the message, Scha-piro didn’t mention race or what specifically oc-curred in the body of his e-mail. Still, even if it caused a moment’s confusion for those unfamiliar with the Halloween costumes’ controversy, the message piqued students’ interest.
This call to action is an opportunity for students to engage in actively transforming NU’s collective racial mentality. Student leaders are all but expected to rise to the challenge. In order for the forum to be a success, though, each and every individual must commit to beginning a conversation.
It’s time to stop the pattern of stereotypes at NU. Traces of racism are evident in not only these two Halloween costumes, but in themed parties where attendees are encouraged to dress “ghetto” or in ways that mock certain minority groups. More than just an example of perhaps inadvertent rac-ism, this recent incident is the result of letting other offensive acts slip past.
This year corresponds with the 10th anniversary of the Multicultural Center and NU’s highest black enrollment of the past nine years, according to the Office of University Enrollment. The benchmarks are heartening, but there is still much to be done. The student body should be proactive instead of re-active — had these costumes never been worn, would NU students, faculty and administrators still be calling for a community-wide forum on race?
Let’s step outside groupthink and channel this passion toward shaping a better NU, one less de-fined by segmentation and more inclusive of our differences. Use Thursday’s forum to seize the ini-tiative to redefine diversity at NU. A campus-wide shift in racial attitudes may take more work: We may find the need to reexamine Diversify NU pro-gramming or refocus ethics distribution require-ments to make them more relevant and important.
Inviting open minds and soliciting serious com-mitments to change the status quo, Thursday’s event can be the first step in starting a constructive dialogue about race with the entire NU community.
how can nU alleviate racial tensions on campus? Vote at www.dailynorthwestern.com/forum
eDiTorial
medill junior carlton Barzon can be reached
leTTers To The eDiTor
ThE daILY norThWESTErn | foruM4 | ThurSdaY, noVEmBEr 5, 2009
Costume taken out of generational context
Listen, black people and white folks! I think we can all agree blackface is not funny. History tells us from 1830 to 1852 blackface was all the rage in this country and probably derived its name from the white performers who blackened their faces with burnt cork while whites mas-querading as blacks performing songs, dances and dialect inspired by the blacks on southern plantations (some of you still speak that way). Characters such as Jim Crow, who in the eyes of white people appeared as a naive, clumsy, idiot southern plantation slave who dressed in rags, represented to white people the idea of a typical black people. With names like Zip Coon or Dandy Jim, this medium enjoyed its greatest popularity (hilarious).
I am defending one of the students believed to be involved in the Halloween incident because dressing as Bob Marley (who was one shade away from being white himself) does not brand him a racist. I am suggesting the student’s use of a Hal-loween costume is best understood in the context of his generation. This same generation (Genera-tion Y) seen as the ultimate rejection of the coun-terculture that embraces the hip-hop culture, Malibu’s Most Wanted, stealing music, stealing movies, broken English — the list goes on.
Let’s pull it together and look at this for what it really isn’t. The student was not mocking an in-sensitive satire (you should really take a look at the Obama bashers for that), nor was he behav-ing insensitively toward a people who clearly have deeper issues than this. It was Halloween and he was having fun.
— lyneTTe ClappSon went to high school
with a student believed to be involved in the halloween blackface incident
Academic advising help offered in many venues
I’d like to thank Maria LaMagna for focus-ing attention on advising resources at North-western in her Oct. 29 story “Advising resources go underused.” I want to add a few additional thoughts, however, that we discussed in our in-terview but didn’t make it into the story.
First, while I did mention not many students stopped by the Associated Student Govern-ment’s Advising Fair, I expressed that I do feel ASG provided a valuable service by hosting the fair. They did a good job organizing the event, and I know publicizing events and balancing schedules as students can be challenging.
I felt the fair was a good place for advisers from various campus offices to interact, and it was a great “one-stop shop” for students seeking advice about multiple advising issues.
When thinking about the factors that are im-portant to consider when choosing classes, be-ing aware of your major, minor and degree re-quirements is important. However, it is also equally important to consider your academic in-terests, areas that you’d like to explore, and your career and graduate school goals when choosing classes. Unfortunately, only the part about re-quirements made it into the article.
Finally, I want to stress there are very many good advising resources on campus that students should and do take advantage of. Wonderful and dedicated advisers are available within each un-dergraduate school to assist students. Many other campus offices complement the advising services offered in the schools. The Office of Fellowships, Study Abroad Office and University Career Ser-vices, among many others, assist students with a wide variety of questions.
In my time working here at NU, it’s been ex-citing to see many students do take advantage of the wide variety of campus resources available. If you’d like to meet with an academic adviser, please give any one of us a call.
— gregory Ceraassistant director, university academic advising center
Send letters to the editor to [email protected]
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School of Education and Social Policy
2010 Summer Field Studies Program
Internships for Credit!
Open to all NU Sophomores & Juniors Four NU Credits Exciting Jobs Great Contacts Group Housing
Information Sessions
Wednesday November 4th 1:00 PM
Thursday November 5th 1:00 PM will be held at
The Center for Civic Engagement
1813 Hinman Avenue
Phone 847-467-1367 [email protected]
Chicago San Francisco Washington D.C.
School of Education and Social Policy2010 Summer Field Studies Program
Internships for Credit!Open to all NU Sophomores & JuniorsFour NU Credits Exciting Jobs Great Contacts Group Housing
For more information contactThe Center for Civic Engagement
1813 Hinman AvenuePhone 847-467-1367
Students question wording, purpose of e-mail alerts
bona fide,” Frohmann added. In the legal system, this means an event is unfounded, but does not necessarily mean that it did not happen, Frohmann said.
”Saying ‘not bona fide’ makes it sound like (the alleged victim) was an out-and-out liar,” Mirsch said.
Many factors, including the likelihood of prosecutors to win a case in court, can im-pact the naming of a report as not bona fide.
“If that case isn’t winnable, a case could be unfounded,” Mirsch said, adding that factors like lack of eyewitnesses or physical evidence and difficulty in locating a sus-pect could discourage a prosecutor from taking a sexual assault case, because a con-viction in those situations is unlikely.
“Prosecutors want convictions,” Frohm-ann said. “Taking on cases that will not produce convictions makes them look in-competent.”
Redd said false reports of sexual assault occur only 1 percent of the time, and vic-tims can retract their reports out of a desire for privacy after the emotional trauma of rape. The demeaning myth that sexual as-sault victims file false reports is a “disser-vice to survivors,” she said.
The reasons for the e-mail’s content and promptness after the reported assault are due in part to the provisions of the Clery Act of 1990 passed after the sexual assault and murder of college student Jeanne Clery at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. The law requires universities to report on-cam-pus crime to students in a timely fashion.
The ambiguities of the law, however, led to a debate over the content of the e-mail sent out by NU alerts.
“I don’t know why there was so much detail in (the e-mail),” Mirsch said, adding that the descriptive account of the sexual
assault could be construed as a violation of the victim’s privacy.
There were other concerns about the wording in the e-mails sent out to students, including the description of the assailant as an African-Amer-ican male about 25 years of age.
Students ques-t ioned whet her the description of the attacker as an African-American m a le w a s pr u-dent.
“ A l l b l a c k y ou ng me n on campus become vulnerable to fur-ther suspicion,” Frohmann said.
Interim Dean of Students Bur-g ie Howard at-tended the event and said some administrators plan to meet Monday to address the system of crime re-porting at NU.
“(The e-mail) made a big portion of our community fearful,” Howard said. “We want to see if there is something better.”
Potter and Stiehl organized the panel immediately after they received the e-mails.
“We felt there was a lot of confusion and stress caused over the situation from last week,” Potter said of student response to the second e-mail.
“This served as a catalyst for continuing this discussion and a reminder of how closed-minded people can be about what sexual assault is and who is to blame,” Stiehl said.
From SHAPE, page 1
“Prosecutors want convic-
tions. Taking on cases that will
not produce convictions
makes them look incompe-
tent.”
Lisa FrohmannCriminology, Law, and
Justice Prof., UIC
THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS6 | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
Note: please do NOT move the green guide. Our designers use that!Note: please do NOT move the green guide. Our designers use that!
By DaNNy Dalythe daily northwestern
All week long, coach Pat Fitzgerald stressed the similarities his team shares with Iowa — the parallels between what he and coach Kirk Fer-entz say in press conferences, how both squads have overcome injuries, their struggles to put to-gether 60 minutes of solid football, and so on.
The key difference has been the Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) have stepped up at opportune times, whereas the Wildcats (5-4, 2-3) have let some games slip through their fingers. One pos-sible reason for the discrepancy in the teams’ re-cords: the play of their offensive lines.
NU’s line woes have been well-documented, and the running game has struggled as a result. Meanwhile, Iowa’s backfield has been just as hobbled as NU’s. The Hawkeyes lost their top two rushers, redshirt freshman Adam Robinson and preseason projected starter Jewel Hampton, to season-ending injuries.
But no matter who has carried the ball for the Hawkeyes, the running game has produced.
“It’s probably going to be one of the best of-fensive lines we face this year,” sophomore de-fensive end Vince Browne said. “It’s a great situ-ation for any one of those running backs.”
Browne will line up against junior left tackle Bryan Bulaga, the anchor of the Iowa line, on Sat-urday. Bulaga was selected for the all-conference second team by Big Ten coaches after last season.
“He’s one of the best tackles in the country for a reason,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s strong, he’s got good feet. They do a nice job with their of-fensive line, and he’s a hell of a football player.”
Linemen like Bulaga, a likely future first-day pick in the NFL Draft, are making the transition to the spotlight easier for tailback Brandon Wegher. The true freshman started the first game of his career against Indiana last week and gained 118 yards on 25 carries, including three touchdowns.
He also racked up more than 100 yards against Iowa State in his first collegiate contest earlier this season.
A few weeks ago, the Cats might not have ex-pected Wegher to be the featured running back for the Hawkeyes. Still, that doesn’t mean they are overlooking him.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s pretty good,” ju-nior linebacker Quentin Davie said. “I know they used him as a goal line guy — he had some nice runs, jumping over some guys. He hits the hole, they have a nice little scheme and they have a great offensive line.”
VAUGHN GETS RID OF INJURY BUGAfter sophomore cornerback Jordan Mabin
was injured in the second half of last week’s loss to Penn State, junior Justan Vaughn trot-ted out to take his place. For a player who’s rarely been healthy, the feeling couldn’t have been better.
“It’s a great thing — it feels like I’m back at home,” Vaughn said. “I’m just trying to take advantage of every opportunity that I get.”
Vaughn won a starting spot before last sea-son and promptly tore his labrum. The timing couldn’t have been worse — he tried to play through the injury, but the pain became excru-ciating. He was sidelined for good against Duke, the second game of the year.
The rehabilitation process for his shoulder took months, but it was a valuable experience for Vaughn.
“It made me put things in perspective,” he said. “I had to make sure I just stayed as posi-tive as I could and worked my shoulder as hard as I could so when I did get back, I could be as healthy as possible.”
The second game proved to be a curse again this season. Vaughn finally cracked the starting lineup, but he tweaked his leg and missed the next six weeks.
With Vaughn’s return, the secondary is even more crowded than before. For now, Vaughn is just excited he has a chance to com-pete for playing time.
“The fact that I’m out here now is just that much better,” Vaughn said. “I’m just hoping that I can stay healthy and take care of my business.”
RECORD-SETTING AGAINST THE RUNJust one year after setting the school record
for rushing defense, NU is on pace to break the record for the second consecutive season.
The Cats have given up 122.9 yards per game on the ground through the first nine games of 2009. That’s almost four yards better than last year’s mark.
The fact that NU hasn’t usually been at full strength would make the achievement even more impressive. Senior defensive linemen Corey Wootton and Adam Hahn have battled injuries for most of the season, but the backups have held the defense together.
“We’ve got great depth,” Browne said. “Guys have been able to step up and carry the flag.”
Iowa’s running backs benefit from Bulaga’s blocking
so successful online because of its academic strength and the high demand for the on-ground version.
Other schools like Harvard and MIT have varying levels of available online materials.
MIT OpenCourseWare publishes course documents online for more than 1,900 classes that are free and accessible to the general public. MIT indicates on its site that this material cannot be used toward an MIT education, degrees or certificates or to ac-cess faculty for office hours.
Harvard offers certain courses online
through iTunes that are accessible to paying students. These classes can later be applied toward a Harvard degree.
Although the Chronicle of Higher Educa-tion article cites findings from a survey of public colleges that 70 percent of all faculty members believed online courses to be infe-rior to face-to-face instruction, participating professors recognize the benefits.
Harvard Prof. Jeff Parker said he is asked back year after year, despite offering videos of his lectures, because of a “richness” found only in the classroom.
“When you look at lecture notes, is that the same thing as being there in class?” he
asked.Braeutigam stressed virtual classes can
also reach students abroad, and could pave the way for more projects like NU’s Qatar campus expansion.
But the initiative would come with chal-lenges like ensuring academic integrity, es-pecially during exams. There would also be a lack of interaction between students, and students and instructors. Braeutigam said professors would not be able to judge stu-dents’ comprehension of material by their body language. University resources, such as libraries and advising offices, would also be a loss for online-only students.
“I like to be around other people,” said Medill senior Rachel Lebowitz. “The whole point of school is to number one: learn, and number two: to meet new people who are also doing cool things and to talk to them about it and learn from it.”
Although NU only has two programs available online, Braeutigam said NU’s pro-cess has been purposely more controlled.
“We may not have jumped out in front,” he said. “But after hearing of other universi-ties’ costly mistakes, we wanted to make sure our programs would be strong.”
Study: Some professors view online teaching as ‘inferior’From ONlINE, page 1
Help WantedHELP WANTED ADS are accepted only from advertisers who are equal opportu-nity employers. The presumption, there-fore, is that all positions offered here are available to qualified persons without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual ori-entation, marital status, age, handicap, or veteran status.
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 5, 2009
ACROSS1 Thumper’s buddy6 La Scala
production11 Cap seen on a
brae14 Render
weaponless15 Ad target16 “If you ask me,” in
chat roomshorthand
17 Non-speakingline?
20 “__ at ’em!”21 Spill the beans22 Non-speaking
line?26 Word after pig or
pony27 State of rest28 Little women31 Aurora’s Greek
counterpart32 Romantic
hopeful34 Non-speaking
line?40 Vital anatomical
passage41 George
Gershwin’sbrother
43 Blankety-blanktype
46 Jaime Sommers,TV’s “__ Woman”
49 The Phantom ofthe Opera
50 Non-speakingline?
53 Magneticinductivity units
56 Soda size57 Apt adage for
this puzzle62 Summer drink63 Too trusting64 Prefix with
surgery65 Smidgen66 “Li’l” guy67 Bygone
anesthetic
DOWN1 Mooch, as a
ride2 “__ questions?”3 Start to practice?4 Under-the-sink
brand5 Gets moving
6 President with aGrammy
7 Not as diluted8 Look over9 Remaining part
10 .17 square miles,for Vatican City
11 Attack à la DonQuixote
12 2001 French filmstarring AudreyTautou
13 Cover girls, e.g.18 Hook’s right
hand19 Worn things22 Fury23 Cat call24 Lhasa __:
Tibetan dog25 Like much Thai
cuisine29 Greek “H”30 High point32 Attach, as a
patch33 Country where
Häagen-DazsH.Q. is
35 Continue toirritate
36 Accomplished37 Some coll.
students
38 Diamond source39 Celtic land42 Behave43 Goes after44 Tater Tots maker45 Like theaters46 Five-time
Wimbledonchamp
47 “Later, bro”48 Brunch staple51 Source of edible
oil
52 Crime planner54 “Happy tune”
whistler ofBroadway
55 Picketer’s bane
58 “Ich bin __Berliner!”
59 “How could Imiss that?!”
60 Before, before61 Negative
conjunction
Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved
By Xan Vongsathorn 11/5/09
(c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 11/5/09
© 2009 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
SOLUTION TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE
Complete the grid so eachROW, COLUMN and 3-by-3BOX (in bold borders)contains every digit, 1 to 9.For strategies on how to solve Sudoku,visit www.sudoku.org.uk
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
Level:
Puzzle Spot: Drag PDF of AD into the box. Size is 14p8 x 18p6
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 | 7SPORTS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN
Join explorer and National Geographic writer Dan Buettner at the Museum on Saturday, Nov. 7 to fi nd out—and discover the secrets of the “Blue Zones,” places in the world where people live longer, fuller lives. Dan will share his extensive research, debunk common myths and offer a blueprint for you to live another 10 quality years.
Learn the secrets to long life!
Does stress really shorten your life?
How can your diet work to keep you young?Does yoga keep you young?
Saturday, Nov. 7, 1-2 p.m.Museum of Science and Industry
A book signing of Dan’s book, Blue Zones: Secrets to a Long Life will follow.
For tickets, call 773-684-1414. Tickets, $25, includes Museum general admission and the new
YOU! The Experience exhibit, in which Dan’s work is featured.
57th Street and Lake Shore Drive | Chicago, Illinois 60637Convenient indoor parking.
As Seen On The Oprah
Winfrey Show
school career in Pennsylvania. The Beth-lehem, Pa., native was named as the Penn-sylvania Player of the Year by the Associ-ated Press in 2006, and was the first player in state history to thrown for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in a single season.
Fel low backup signal caller fresh-man Evan Watkins said reserves have t o p r e p a r e l i k e starters in order to be ready for of f-chance opportuni-ties to play.
“ W e t r y t o model what (Kafka) does every day, ev-ery day at practice, ever y day in t he f i lm room,” Wat-kins said. “You just want to do what he does.”
It was only fitting that Persa’s Big Ten debut came against Penn State, a team the quarterback grew up following. Both Per-sa’s mother and sister are Penn State alums.
The sophomore said that playing his hometown team in a nationally-televised night game didn’t bother him.
“You’re nervous on the sideline before you go in,” Persa said. “Once you’re in the game you don’t really have time to think about much except just going on the field and kind of playing and having fun.”
But it hasn’t been all fun and games for Persa to this point. The sophomore had to fight his way to even be included in the Cats’ quarterback picture. Persa said the NU coaching staff didn’t know if he had the throwing ability to be a Big Ten signal caller. They waited to see him play in person before putting a scholarship on the table.
“I came in and I proved that I could throw pretty well, and they offered me as a quarterback,” Persa said. “Going in I knew I wasn’t exactly what they were look-ing for but when I came to camp I proved that I was.”
Persa’s tough-guy demeanor has been essential in his development as a quarter-back since day one. Although the backup signal caller may be quiet off the field, his tenacity has allowed him to gain a skill that’s necessary for every starter:
“Actions speak louder than words in ev-erything,” McCall said. “When (Dan) is in the locker room or when he’s with someone individually, I think he gets their attention.”
NU backup battles with family team
Cats improve rebounding effort from last year
From PERSA, page 8
made just one of his seven shots for the game and did not pull down any boards.
Though Robert Morris was unquestion-ably better last year, winning 28 games and graduating most of its top players, NU looked considerably more confident. It did not trail after the first two minutes and was ahead by double digits throughout the second half.
The Cats’ ability to wear down the Eagles inside with Shurna, Mirkovic, Curletti and ju-nior Ivan Peljusic contributed to the blowout.
Whereas NU was out-rebounded 47-42 in last year’s defeat, it pulled down 18 more boards than Robert Morris did on Wednesday. Mirkovic in particular was much improved on the glass, recording six rebounds.
“I liked that he rebounded out there,” Car-mody said. “It seemed like he was getting two-handed rebounds…with people around.”
T he sophomores a lso seemed more comfortable in Carmody’s Princeton of-fense. The Cats tallied more assists and fewer turnovers than they did last season against the Eagles.
By being more patient, NU took advan-
tage of some open passing lanes to the sophomores down low. That allowed the offense to be more balanced.
“We went dow n t here a couple of t imes,” Carmody said. “I l iked that we threw it down there. Good things usually happen, even if it goes in and then out.”
The threat of scoring inside opened up opportunities on the perimeter. The Cats were especia l ly ef f icient f rom 3-point range before intermission, making 5-of-11 attempts. It was a far cry from the 1-of-10 first-half performance in 2008’s exhibition loss.
Curletti might not have piled up as many points as Shurna and Mirkovic, but he was a factor nonetheless. He recorded a team-best four offensive rebounds, which gave the Cats some second-chance baskets.
“We’re not asking him to score a bunch of points,” Coble said. “He runs through things, he’s a strong kid and he plays the post well.”
Everyone insisted the team still has a long way to go, but Shurna, Mirkovic and Curletti showed how far they have come already.
RAy whiTEhOuSE/ThE dAily nORThwESTERn
Senior forward Kevin Coble drives in for a layup against Robert Morris on Wednesday. He had 15 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes of play during the exhibition win against the Eagles.
From mEn’S bASkETbAll, page 8
“You think about your first
major college competition...
against a team in the Top 20. He handled it
really well.”
Pat Fitzgeraldon Dan Persa's game
against Penn State
By Dave UBertithey daily northwestern
It took Dan Persa one play to show what type of quarterback he is.
Senior s t a r ter Mike Kafka left Saturday’s game against then No. 12-Penn State midway through the second quarter with a leg
injury, handing Persa a 10-3 lead. On third-and-four, the sophomore
quarterback lined up in the shotgun. Persa received the snap and looked off coverage on a designed draw play. He scampered to his right and outran one Penn State linebacker to get to the out-side of the defense. Immediately after crossing the first-down marker, Persa
was upended by Penn State cornerback D’Anton Lynn, knocking Persa off his feet and sending him sprawling through the air. Persa completed a f lip to pick up three more yards.
“It felt great because you’re never re-ally get warmed up until you get the first hit on you,” he said.
Describing Persa as hard-nosed may be an understatement, as he is one of the rare signal-callers who don’t shy away from contact. Boston College even tried to re-cruit the six-foot-one, 210-pounder to play defense. Last year, Persa’s toughness earned him time as a special teams player.
Although his two-and-a-half quarters of play on Saturday didn’t lead the Wild-cats to victory, his first real performance on the Big Ten stage impressed the coaching staff.
“He’s got great quickness and quick feet,” offensive coordinator Mick McCall said. “He’s a strong kid. He can run through an arm tackle.”
Despite Persa’s inexper ience, his preparation allowed the coaching staff to stick to its game plan. Persa completed 14-of-23 passes for 115 yards and rushed 14 times for 42 yards.
“I was proud of the way that Danny stepped up,” Fitzgerald said. “You think about really your first major college com-petition and you’re welcomed in the heat of the battle against a team in the Top 20. He handled it really well.”
Saturday was Persa’s first taste of ex-tended playing time since arriving in Evanston, despite a record-setting high
8
sportsThe Daily Northwestern
Slam-dunk exhibition opener for NU
ray whitehoUse/the Daily northwestern
Freshman guard Drew Crawford ushers in the start of the season with a dunk against Robert Morris. He started at the shooting guard position that was vacated after Craig Moore graduated. His first game was a mixed bag: He had a spectacular dunk and block but also fouled out.
Persa’s toughness earns admiration
Feature
Read tomorrow’s Daily to learn how the men's and women's soccer teams are gearing up for their final games of the regular season.
toMorrowinsports Daily QUota“We have so much to work
on, it’s not even funny.”
NU coach Bill Carmody, on his team’s first game
Find out how the field hockey team is preparing for the Big Ten Tournament at www.dailynorthwestern.com/sports.
By roDger sherManthe daily northwestern
Northwestern didn’t forget they lost to an NAIA opponent in last year’s exhibition opener.
After falling 69-62 to the Eagles in last year’s exhibi-tion game, the Cats pulled away from Robert Morris early and never let them back in, winning 78-49.
“The difference was us,” senior forward Kevin Coble said. “We knew about last year. That was in the back of our mind a little bit.”
The Cats dominated every facet of the game: they brought down 33 defensive rebounds as opposed to 33 overall for the Ea-gles, and the Princeton offense looked to be in midseason form, as the Cats recorded 24 assists.
“We don’t know what type of team they had,” coach Bill Car-mody said. “But it’s nice to get a win. Winning is contagious.”
John Shurna led all players with 21 points and seven re-bounds, followed in both catego-ries by Coble’s 15 and six.
Surprisingly, NU’s leader in assists was Jeff Ryan. Ryan, who hasn’t been known for his offensive ability, made the NU offense click. He knocked down a three after going 0-5 from beyond the arc all last season, and dished out four assists, including a nifty pass to find a cutting Mike Capocci on a backdoor cut, who slammed down an emphatic dunk.
“Ryan was our best player out there today,” Carmody said. “Getting steals, running the team, passing the ball. We broke it in the first half, and he was responsible.”
Rather than scrapping for a victory in the clos-ing minutes of the exhibition, the Cats were able to empty out the bench and give their least experi-enced players some time to work out the kinks.
“I wanted to play (freshmen) Alex (Marcotullio) and Drew (Crawford),” Carmody said. “Get them in there and miss shots and mess up and not do what they’re supposed to, and come around a little bit.”
Crawford, a highly-touted freshman recruit, got the start in the shooting guard spot Craig Moore aban-doned last year. Crawford looked shaky, fouling out of the game and airballing an open jumper, but threw down one of NU’s three dunks in the game and out-jumped his man for a strong block on a jumper.
NU played 14 of the 15 players on their roster.“It’s a long season,” Carmody said. “And those
guys on the end of the bench like to get in there too.”The only player not to get in was last year’s starting
center Kyle Rowley, who was only medically cleared to play yesterday after breaking his foot in the offseason.
Robert Morris started out strong, cutting an early NU lead to 18-17. However, a 13-3 run followed, fea-turing three 3-pointers by sophomore John Shurna.
“We didn’t get frantic,” Coble said. “We stayed poised, and did a nice job of wearing them down.”
Robert Morris scored the first four points of the second half to cut NU’s lead to 35-30. But after a 12-3 run, NU never looked back.
“We did a nice job of wearing them down,” Coble said. “With ten minutes left in the game, they were exhausted.”
NU was able to exhaust the Eagles through tough defense — eight steals led to multiple uncon-tested breakaways — and offensive rebounding. The Cats brought down 18 offensive boards, com-pared to 64 in all of last season.
“Coach tried to make a statement that we have a big team,” Shurna said. “We cause some matchup problems down low.”
Once they brought in the offensive rebound, the Cats usually found a man open beyond the arc: 11 play-ers threw up threes, and although the team only went 9-31, those long jumpers led to more long rebounds.
Despite the 29-point margin of victory, at least one observer was not satisfied.
“We have so much to work on,” Carmody said. “It’s not even funny.”
NU empties bench during blowout win
Sophomores score big inside paint
By Danny Dalythe daily northwestern
Last year, Northwestern had to lean heavi ly on its f reshmen to provide a st rong post presence. T he Wi ldcats brought five new players into the pro-gram, four of whom were 6-foot-8 or taller, to aid a team in desperate need of height.
Now sophomores, they are demonstrat-ing the vast effect of that first year of experience.
“They knew what they were doing,” coach Bil l C a r mo d y s a id . “ T he y played like veterans.”
John Shurna led t he way with 21 points and s e ven reb ou nd s , b ot h
game highs. Luka Mirkovic added eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, while Davide Curletti pushed his weight around in the paint. The fourth big man, Kyle Rowley, sat out as a precaution, as he had only recently returned to practice and been cleared to play.
The dif ference between last year’s and this year’s exhibition game for them was palpable in NU’s 78-49 victory over Robert Morris.
“You’re able to see the game a little easier and slower,” Shurna said. “Things opened up for us.”
The team displayed its maturity from the opening tip. NU dictated the tempo, using up more than half of the shot clock during each of its first two possessions. The Cats established their physicality early on, too — they had two offensive rebounds in the first 90 seconds.
“We did a good job of getting the shot clock down and getting the shot that we really wanted — I really don’t think we took many poor shots, and they played us hard, trying to pressure us,” senior for-ward Kevin Coble said. “There was a lit-tle bit of nerves at the beginning, just given our history.”
The 69-62 loss to Robert Morris prior to last season is the history Coble was re-ferring to. In that game, the Cats fell be-hind the Eagles by as much as 11 in the first 10 minutes and shot 23 percent from the f loor during the first half. Mirkovic
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Robert Morris
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